Special Saturday Edition
Ethan Barton, Pastoral Resident, Tallowood Baptist Church
What we believe matters. It directly impacts everything we do. We act based on what we believe is true and best, whether knowingly or subconsciously. What we believe can change our life; and as John says, what we believe can give us life.
John is passionately, urgently intent on convincing you that belief in Jesus is worthwhile and even life-giving. Specifically, he wants you to believe that Jesus is who he says he is—the Son of God and promised Messiah—and that he lived perfectly, died humbly, and resurrected victoriously so that those that are his children may be free to live eternally for the glory of God for whom they were made. That’s a substantial belief indeed! And if we believe it’s true, we’ll act as if it’s true; we’ll act like those very children of Jesus.
But as we all know too well, it’s hard to actually, fully believe that, as we’ve never met Jesus face to face. We instead tend to let what we see determine what we believe, even though we see so little of the world. Thomas unfortunately earned himself the forever-nickname of “the doubter” because candidly, he did what most of us would do. He would not believe what he couldn’t see. But we are called to believe in light, even when the world is dark. Such is the very active, diligent task of faith!
Christ says we are blessed if we believe by faith. And not just believe in what’s easy to see, or believe only in passive word—rather, we belief the truth of the gospel down to our soul, and it radically transforms our entire life and every action. That belief is worthwhile. Believe in Jesus the Messiah and be transformed!
